Hour 3

It's Pokemon Go Community Day, how to avoid scams while making money online, what to do with a frozen iPhone X, best security cameras to buy, inexpensive PCs that will run Fortnite, how to do web design as a side business, whether to get an Intel or AMD processor for a custom built computer, Chris Marquardt reviews the "hat" photo assignment, and more of your calls.

Guests

Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Eddie bought a new 65" Vizio 4K TV. What sound bar should he get? Leo says that a sound bar is made for convenience first and audio quality second. Eddie will want to get a sound bar that comes with a subwoofer, though. A home theater system is the ideal solution, but if his space limited, a sound bar is a good compromise.

Since he has a Vizio TV, why not go with a Vizio sound bar? It comes with a wireless subwoofer and provides a nice, rich sound. The Vizio SB3821 sounds great, has over 7 speakers to simulate surround sound, and is only $150.

Mark cut the cord and was saving $120 a month. He put up an antenna for live TV, but he was having issues with reception, so he went back to Comcast with a two year deal. He now thinks me made a mistake. He has an Arris Surfboard modem that won't activate. Leo says Mark needs to call the service rep and tell them the modem isn't activating.

Leo suspects that there's some sort of anti-piracy measure getting in the way, and it probably has to do with his MAC address. But since Comcast wants to roll a truck, that leads Leo to suspect there's a physical connection issue. So at this point, Comcast has to fix it.

Josh built his own computer, but when he turns it on, sometimes it stalls on the POST (Power On Self Test). Leo says that it could be a cold solder connection, which needs to heat up a bit before the connection is made and the motherboard boots up. But that is rare these days. It could also be a flakey power supply. Another thing to check is if the RAM is properly seated.

Leo thinks the most likely cause is that the BIOS is corrupt. He should try and refresh it. If that doesn't work, he can try and reinstall the BIOS firmware. It could also be physically damaged, though.

Dawn signed up for an online survey. Is it a scam? Leo says that as long as she doesn't give them any credit card or bank information, or suggest software installation, she should be fine. All she's doing is wasting her time. She probably has to jump through so many hoops that she won't really make money for a long time.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Sherry's iPhone froze up and now she can't boot it up without another crash. So she did a hard reset, which worked. But she's had to hard reset it five times since. Leo says the best thing she can do at this point is erase the iPhone and restore it to the factory defaults. If that doesn't solve the issue, then there's a physical issue.

She should go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. This will restore it to the original factory condition. It would be best if she could back it up first. She can do that by connecting it to her computer via iTunes, and do the restore that way. Then it will download the latest OS and install it as well.

Christina's sister has an issue with her security camera TV connection. The HDMI port is not working. Leo says that security cameras have become a consumer product these days, and she doesn't really need to have a pricey CCTV setup. Wyze Cam makes wireless 1080p security cameras for around $30 a piece. Nest is the next step up, and they're about $300. So she'd no longer need an expensive DVR recording security setup. The DVR recording is done in the cloud. This gives her the option of being able to view the cams anywhere and anytime for under $10 a month. So there's some very good consumer options.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Scott is looking for a secure internet solution for his apartment tenants. Leo says he'll want to have a business version, which will give him a more reliable and faster connection. Leo suggests buying four different routers in bridge mode with a main Ubiquity Edge Router X. That will enable you to route traffic through the other four routers via a VLan connection. They will have a secure and isolated connection, while still sharing the connection. The other option is to let your tenants secure their own internet connection.

Jack's ten year old is a budding geek. What should he get him? Leo says the Raspberry Pi computer would be a great project for him, and he can even use it to play Minecraft for around $35.

Jack's kid is obsessed with Fortnite, though, so he needs a computer to play it. Leo says that he can get a low cost laptop that should be able to play Fortnite. It has pretty low performance requirements. His best bet is an inexpensive Windows computer. It can even run on a low end Core i3 processor, but Leo recommends the i5. It should have 8GB of RAM, and a low end Nvidia video card.

Dan is thinking of getting into web design. What does he need to do? Leo says that having an understanding of HTML and CSS is important to understand how the websites are built. He should also know Javascript. All three of these are fundamental to learning how to create a good website. There's also Frameworks, which would enable him to design interactive and immersive websites. They are done through Google, Twitter, and others. It would also be a good idea to become an expert in a content management system like WordPress or Squarespace.

What should he charge to do this? Leo says he should charge an hourly rate rather than a flat fee. Around $50 an hour. Then he should also charge a monthly support fee.

James wants to be able to upgrade his computer to a new processor and motherboard. Should he go with Intel or save money and go with AMD? Leo says that AMD has kept Intel innovating and the prices down. However, for the last few years, Intel has surpassed AMD. But AMD is bouncing back with the Ryzen processor platform, which is very affordable. So it comes down to what's more important, price or performance?

At the end of the day, he can't go wrong with Intel. But he can also speed up his computer with an SSD, a better quality graphics card and better RAM. Leo recommends going to Anandtech for reviews, as well as PC Perspectives at PCPer.com

Guest appearances

This Week in Tech News

There's a huge security flaw in WINRAR, that will enable hackers to take over your computer. So Leo advises that if you use WINRAR to zip/unzip your files, that you should update to the latest beta version. But you have to go to the WINRAR site and manually download the update. There is no automatic update.

Accusing Apple of anti competitive behavior, Spotify's music streaming service says that the company charges a 30% commission for subscriptions through the Apple store, while charging 30% less for their own music service.

Leo bought the Samsung Galaxy S10+, a phone with 10TB of storage, 12GB of RAM, and a ceramic back. For $1500. Leo says it's a really nice phone. Reviews are mixed, but buyers seem to like it, with preorders doubling the last generation. Samsung has avoided "the notch," but instead, they have a "hole punch," which houses two selfie cameras. Is that any different than the notch? Not really. It's also nearly as big as the Note 9 and has the best screen on the market. But Leo says it's so fast that it's hyper-responsive. It reacts to being touched on the edge. It also has three cameras on the back. It also has an under-screen fingerprint ID, which isn't very fast and requires a little patience. AND IT HAS A HEADPHONE JACK!

In a new announcement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook is moving towards a more privacy-focused experience, including encryption, private groups, and more. Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook doesn't have a reputation for security and privacy, and they plan to change all that. With sharing on Facebook going down by 25%, especially with younger users, Zuckerberg says that the social media network is going to move from a town square, to your own living room. It's a serious PIVOT. Leo says that Zuckerberg has made promises like this before, so we'll have to wait and see what happens. Is it possible to have a privacy-focused Facebook? Only time will tell, but Leo says it's a good idea.